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Are you pregnant again after having preeclampsia once already in a previous pregnancy? Post your thoughts/concerns here - there are others who share your feelings. This is also the home of our Bedrest Buddies Support group.

I just found out yesterday that #2 is on the way. First pregnancy ended at 30 wks due to severe pre-e. My blood pressure went up at 28 wks with protein and swelling. 10 days later I was hospitalized and then transferred to a hospital with a NICU. My blood pressure kept hitting 180/110 even laying on my left side in the hospital. In those 10 days my 24 hr urine had gone from 315 to 10,000! Needless to say, the dr. didn't wait long after the last 24 hr urine. My DD was born 11/25/01 and is perfect. I'm still amazed.

We've been thinking about #2 for awhile and had decided to try if a pre-pregnancy consult with a perinatologist went well. Looks like that consult is going to be turned into a first prenatal. I'll hopefully know more after I go to that appt.

I am early in my 2nd pregnancy (10 weeks.) In my foirst pregnancy my bp fiorst went high at 27 weeks, it fluctuated a lot after that. Stress and activity were not helpful at that point. At 32 weeks I showed protien in my urine, although my labs looked good, and was put on bed rest. I spent 2 weeks on bed rest (doing the NSt's etc.) At 34 weeks, things showed sign of worsening so they decided to induce (so my Valentine's baby came just after New Year's. My bp was still high when they released me, but it soon stabilized on it's own. I had no idea I was so swolen until the morning after I came home, it all went away and my fingers looked so skinny.

Ds had a hard start with repiratory distress and a trnasfer to a differnet hospital (those two days were hard for me.) He bounced back well though and came home at 2 weeks old. He was small but he's come so far.

My first pregnancy was completely uneventful except for severe swelling until the day I delivered. I had SEVERE headaches for about 5 days preceeding Christmas 2002. On Christmas day my headache was so severe I couldn't get out of bed. My sister (a nurse) took my BP and it was very high. I was told to go straight to L&D. They did a urinalysis and labs immediately upon my arrival and found protein in my urine, hyper-reflexes and my platelets were low. So they delivered my DD 6 weeks early on Christmas day last year. She was only in the NICU for about 2 weeks and was pretty healthy. I, on the other hand, continued to swell after delivery and my bp continued to rise. I was on mag right after delivery and lasix. I ended up having a seizure about 24 hours after I delivered due to my high bp. I have no memory of right after delivery until the weekend (so for 5 days). Months after delivering I found out I had Factor V Leiden which is a contributing factor to pre-e.

Now pregnant with #2 (due 6/18/03)and seeing a peri along with my OB. So far, we're very unimpressed with the peri. Next week I start daily Lovenox injections. Kind of scared about those, but so far all is going well.

WOW! We sure have been through alot! Here we go, with my last pregnancy, my BP was up at first appt (7 weeks)and continued to be up. Some appts it was 150/100. No concern was ever shown. I swelled early, but all my Dr said was cut back on salt. So, at 25 weeks 2 days, I saw her. My BP was up, but apparently no protein - a little sugar in urine. So I went home. I woke up 12 hours later with excrutiating pain in my ribs. I finally decided it was that "gas" that every body had warned me about. I went and bought gas-x and took some tylenol. I felt a little better. That day we left for my parents for 2 weeks for Christmas. I did not feel well, but this was my first preg - what did I know? I had severe pitted edema and upper quadrant pain that i was manageing with tylenol. I survived the Holiday Hoopla! Even spent several hours on Alabama back roads - boy was I lucky to make it back to civilization! Anyway, wednesday, December 26, 2001, my mother went to work, my husband and father went hunting, and I laid on the couch. Around lunch time, my mother called and asked me what my BP was - 210/140. Uh Oh! I left 3 messages on the "emergency" line at my Dr.'s office - 3 hours away. Then my sister came and took me to the emergency room. Things were very bad - immenent kidney failure, liver out of whack and BP up to 270/190 - I don't know exactly how high it went, nobody would tell me. My mom showed up. As they took me to the elevator to go up to L&D, the nurse said, "so, you're from Pensacola? Looks like you'll be taking a baby home with you" It was so sureal. I was thinking "no, my baby is not ready to be born, but why I am going to have him now?" Total confusion. So, they gave me one steroid shot, but when they realized that the Mag Sulf wasn't going to do anything, they said you're having this baby. Now, my husband still had not arrived, the dr wouldn't let mom in the OR because I was "so sick". He later told us that Josh would have found me dead in the morning if I had not come to ER - yikes! So, Josh arrived just as they were about to cut me. They let him come in and not touch anything. I spent the next 36 hours in ICU on mag, just 1/2 cc away from dialysis. Finally, Friday morn they dc'd the mag and I could move again. I got to see Ian friday afternoon. That, of course is a whole nother story. let's just say that he is now a happy, healthy 2 year old. He spent 14 weeks in the NICU 3 hours away - came home on his due date.

So, we got preg first try this time & at 8 weeks, my activities were restricted and BP meds increased. I have been on meds since Ian's delivery. Here's to bed rest! good luck to all of you.

My son was born in August 01 at 31 weeks. I had symptons ofPE from 28 weeks. Kit was delivered as he had stopped growing since 28 weeks and this showed on the scan. He was 2lbs 11oz. He spent 5 weeks in special care but is now a robust 2 year old with no problems.

I had a bad time convincing midwives and doctors that something was wrong but was eventually admited to hospital for monitoring when it all took off. Its made me somewhat paranoid this pregnancy but better safe than sorry Ive decied. This time around I saw a specialist early. Took baby aspirin and vit c and E. I stopped work at 25 weeks when my BP started to rise. Once I had stopped my BP came down to normal.

Im now 37+3 weeks with number 2. I can hardly believe it. I have a C section scheduled or 22nd december but could have it moved earlier if a space becomes free. Baby measred 7lb 1oz at last scan (36 weeks).

Its such a different prgnancy. Last time around I hardly knew I was pregnant and sailed through until I became dizzy at 28 weeks. I never really felt very ill but I had an enormous sense that something was wrong then. This time around I have had everything to contentd with but nothing which has turned out to be serious (yet). Nausea, tiredness, bloatedness, son had chicken pox, scan said potential chromosonal abnormality, fluctuating BPs although I could always bring them down with rest.

All the above seems resolved and now I am impatient for delivery date. I can hardly believe I am going to have a full sized baby who wont have to go to special care. I cant wait to try breast feeding . My first couldn't for three weeks and then wouldn't after that.

I am new although I have been lurking for about a week now! I am 36, married and have two daughers 7yo & 2yo. I just found out I am pregnant with #3. It was not planned & I've been beating myself up about it. I'd planned to have an IUD inserted after delivery, but was so upset with my OB & out of it for several months, that I just never did it. So much for condoms! My first appointment is the 16th of this month and based on lmp I'm due 8/4/03. I'll be meeting with a High Risk OB and hope to find out info on how he thinks I will fair this time around.

With my second pregnancy I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes after failing the 3-hour glucose test and soon after started swelling on calves and feet. My OB poo-poo'd me everytime I mentioned how horibly swollen they were, saying it was just part of pregnancy. I know swelling technically isn't a symptom anymore, but it was an indicator, particulatly because I didn't have that severe edema with my first "normal" pregnancy. My bp was 120/80 until the 37th week when it went up, but I don't know to what. Parts of my chart (I've since requested my medical record)appear to be missing. I swore my weight had gone up about 10lbs in 2 weeks, but again, my last OB appointment doesn't appear to have my weight listed. A few days later while grocery shopping, I felt teriibly ill like I was going to vomit and faint, but it passed. Keep in mind that I assumed any unusually ill feelings I had were related to GD. I wasn't even thinking about PE because I "thought" my face and fingers weren't swollen. After looking at pictures I see that they were! The next week, I'd gone to to a peri for a regularly scheduled ultrasound related to the gestational diabetes. While there I was feeling kind of strange, so I asked a nurse to take my bp, it was 170/100. Now I've NEVER had high blood pressure my entire life - I don't even know why I thought to ask to have my pressure taken, but thank God I did. They told me to go to the hospital immediately. While there they monitored me to see if the bp had gone down, but it hadn't so they induced me. For those of you who've only been induced, you aren't aware of anything different, but for those who were fortunate to experience labor without induction, that *%$&! hurts!!!! I begged the nurses for an epidural, but my doctor had left the room, didn't say where she was going and didn't come back for over an hour or 2! So the window of time was gone & I had to do it without drugs. My daughter arrived healthy and weighed exactly 6 pounds. I was kind of shocked, because all of the doctors kept warning me that the baby may be large due to the diabetes. One day later my bp was 160/90, but my OB didn't prescribe medication to lower it. It stayed that way on day 2, still no meds. I also had abnormal liver & kidney tests. At midnight on day 3 I was woken up and whisked from my room and taken to the ICU and started on Mag Sulf., catheterized and did a 24 hour urine test (I think). I was hooked up to automatic bp cuff and could see my BP go up to 186/110. My legs were in these cuffs that massaged them to prevent blood clots. I asked dh to please not bring dd to visit me in that condition. I didn't want her to think that having a baby was so scary. I kept saying I was fine when the ICU doctors asked if I had abdominal pain. After 2 days I was sent back to a regular room. I started seeing spots. THen everything on my right started looking wavy. I also couldn't remember phone numbers I'd known for years. I didn't even know I had been in the ICU - I was wondering why the TV was free! I remember it was very noisy and I wished everyone would shut up. I couldn't remember little things that had happened days before. After 7 days I was released with still no meds and bp of 150/90.

Sorry this was so long, but I feel that my suffering could have been prevented. I didn't get to spend the postpartum time with my new baby, but instead had to go on endless doctor's appointments. I still have memory problems, and am kind of dyslexic and sometimes see words that aren't there. That never happened before, was always an excellent english student. The wavy vision didn't go away for 3 months. The BP eventually returned to 120/80. Now I'm pregnant again.....